[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 145 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46260-46313]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-18921]



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Part IV





Nuclear Regulatory Commission





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Revision of Management Directive for Review of 10 CFR 2.206 Petitions; 
Request for Comments; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 145 / Thursday, July 27, 2000 / 
Notices  

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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION


Revision of Management Directive for Review of 10 CFR 2.206 
Petitions; Request for Comments

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NRC Management Directive (MD) 8.11 describes the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) review process for 10 CFR 2.206 
petitions. In a continuing effort to improve the review process, the 
NRC staff has developed process changes and a draft revision to MD 
8.11. This notice invites public comment on the draft revision to MD 
8.11.

DATES: The comment period ends September 1, 2000. Comments received 
after this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the 
staff is able to assure consideration only for those comments received 
on or before this date.

ADDRESSES: Mail written comments to David L. Meyer, Chief, Rules and 
Directives Branch, Division of Administrative Services, Office of 
Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 
20555-0001. Comments may also be sent by completing the online comment 
form for MD 8.11 at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/MD/index.html.
    In addition, comments may be delivered to Room 6D59, Two White 
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, between 7:30 
a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays. Copies of the draft revision to MD 
8.11, the complete text of which follows this notice, are available for 
a fee at the NRC's Public Document Room, the Gelman Building, 2120 L 
Street, NW., Washington, DC. Publicly available records are accessible 
electronically from the ADAMS Public Library component on the NRC Web 
site, http://www.nrc.gov (the Electronic Reading Room). This notice and 
the draft revision to MD 8.11 are also available electronically on the 
Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/MD/index.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Herbert N. Berkow, Mail Stop O-8H12, 
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone (301) 415-1485 and e-
mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The process changes to MD 8.11 were 
identified and developed based on the comments received from the NRC 
staff and members of the public. The staff requested public comments on 
the current revision of MD 8.11 in a Federal Register notice that was 
published on October 7, 1999 (64 FR 54654). The staff held public 
meetings on December 15, 1999, and February 10, 2000, to discuss 
potential process improvements. Based on the comments received, the 
staff developed three major process changes:
    1. The review process, as revised in July 1999, offers petitioners 
an opportunity to meet with the staff's petition review board (PRB), 
either in person or by teleconference, before the initial PRB meeting. 
The purpose of this meeting is to allow the petitioner an opportunity 
to provide elaboration and clarification of the petition and any 
requests for immediate action. The staff is planning to provide an 
opportunity for petitioners to meet with the PRB after the PRB has 
discussed the petition, as well as before. The purpose of a meeting at 
this stage is to allow the petitioner to comment on the PRB's 
recommendations regarding whether (1) the petition meets the criteria 
for review under 10 CFR 2.206 and (2) any requested immediate actions 
will be granted. As is currently the case, the licensee would also be 
invited to participate.
    2. The staff plans to eliminate the criteria in MD 8.11 that must 
be satisfied before a technical meeting can be offered during the 
staff's review of the petition.
    3. The staff's response to a petition is a director's decision 
which may grant the petition, in whole or in part, or deny the 
petition. The staff plans to provide a copy of the proposed director's 
decision to the petitioner and the licensee for comments before it is 
issued in final form. The proposed director's decision would also be 
placed in the public document room. The intent of this new provision in 
the process is to allow the petitioner and the licensee an opportunity 
to review the proposed director's decision and identify any potential 
errors or issues that have not been addressed. The staff would then 
reconsider any affected portions of the proposed director's decision. 
Because the staff's disposition of the comments would be included in 
the director's decision, NRC management would have an opportunity to 
evaluate the staff's handling of the comments before the director's 
decision is formally issued.
    In addition to these specific changes, the staff has completely 
rewritten MD 8.11 to improve the flow of the document and make it 
easier to use.
    The Commission met with the staff and a public panel on May 25, 
2000, to discuss the staff's planned process changes. As background for 
the meeting, the staff sent a memorandum to the Commission on May 4, 
2000 (accession number ML003708647), outlining the history behind 
previous process changes and the basis for the new changes. In a staff 
requirements memorandum on June 20, 2000, the Commission stated that it 
supported the staff's plans to make changes to the review process for 
10 CFR 2.206 petitions.
    The NRC staff has developed the revision to MD 8.11, incorporating 
the changes described above, and requests comments on the revision. 
Management directives are internal NRC procedures which are not 
ordinarily published for public comment. However, MD 8.11 deals with a 
process that directly involves the public, and the NRC staff has 
determined that its efforts to improve the process will benefit from 
public participation. All comments received will be considered. The 
result of this effort will be reflected in a future revision of MD 
8.11.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 19th day of July 2000.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Herbert N. Berkow,
Director, Project Directorate II, Division of Licensing Project 
Management, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation.
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

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[FR Doc. 00-18921 Filed 7-26-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-C